Topics include city and county disaster preparation and recovery plans, American Red Cross shelter information, how to deal with flooding and how individuals can prepare their homes and families for a hurricane.

Refreshments will be available at 8 a.m. No reservations are required.

Volunteer shortage puts Carfit on ice

Venice Regional Hospital and the city of Venice have canceled the Carfit event that was scheduled for Saturday.

Trained volunteers were to work with older drivers to help them find the find the best adjustment for seats, mirrors, head restraints and other amenities. Not enough volunteers signed up for the event, which has not been rescheduled.

Sarasota district designated historic

SARASOTA — A wedge of downtown bordering Gulf Stream Avenue and including Five Points has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The designation means that owners of 49 buildings that are more than 50 years old could get tax credits to restore the historic facade, and it moves the city one step closer to having a sign on Interstate 75 that points people to Sarasota’s new historic downtown district.

In the meantime, other, smaller signs are already up on U.S. 41 and Fruitville Road, and business owners are hoping the increased visibility draws more people downtown.

“It is going to mean money for downtown,” said Ernie Ritz, a contractor who just restored a 1925 storefront on Main Street and the former president of the Main Street Merchants Association.

The area comprises about 12 blocks, bound by First Street, Orange Avenue, State Street, Gulf Stream Avenue and North Pineapple Avenue.